


Shadow Crescent

by nocturneworld6



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Bittersweet, Comfort, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Cross-Posted on Wattpad, Detective AU, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Fluff and Smut, Hmm let me see, Modern AU, Modern Era, Multi, Murder Mystery, Okay I'm New To Tagging, Relationship(s), Slow Burn, Suspense, Thriller, What else can you tag
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-15
Updated: 2020-07-31
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:15:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25278343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nocturneworld6/pseuds/nocturneworld6
Summary: The demons are infiltrating the human world, killing people in mysterious ways. Detective Kagome Higurashi is assigned a new case that is threatening her life. A dog demon is out, and nobody knows who is going to drop dead next. [Modern AU]
Relationships: Higurashi Kagome & Kirara, Higurashi Kagome & Shippou, Higurashi Kagome/InuYasha, Kikyou/Sesshoumaru (InuYasha), Miroku/Sango (InuYasha)
Kudos: 21





	1. Puzzles

Department of Alternative Forensics was situated in a well-furnished and supplied building on the outskirts of Tokyo, funded well by the government for purposes of handling cases that fell outside of police territory. More specifically, human territory. In the span of less than four years, they had gained notoriety for solving exceptionally strange cases that ranged from grotesque and unethical scientific experiments being run in a shady basement to thwarting terrorist plans in the comfort of their 6 by 8 cubicles. Notoriety because of their unorthodox ways of solving crimes.

They weren’t exactly gun toting vigilantes, they had certain rules and restrictions, but they weren’t exactly working under the police either. They had plenty of freedom how to approach a case, but they handled work in a strict, organised fashion. Every person in the department was sorted into teams, and each team was comprised of experienced personnel. You would see them rushing around in the office area, carrying files and barking orders to subordinates to follow up.

A narrow passage led into the lounge from the office, and nobody particularly liked staying in the lounge. Most of the detectives and technicians were handpicked from the Public Security Intelligence Agency of Japan, and the desired traits in prospective candidates were extraordinary intelligence and a devotion towards work. They were all essentially workaholics that couldn’t live on Sundays because they longed to get back to their cubicles.

The cubicles usually were occupied with employees hunched on their computer screen that hummed a mechanical whir of gears, or pinning notes meticulously on their bulletin. Occasionally a senior detective informed a team of four officials for new cases, and the work was divided equally between the technical official, the junior detective, the evidence organiser and the obligatory police officer in the bunch.

Tokyo was a huge city, and the violence and gang activities in the neighbourhood wasn’t rampant, but wasn’t unheard of either. But in the recent years Tokyo had come to be known for more aberrant crimes, ones that involved experiments gone wrong, insurgent groups and international hacking groups. Law enforcements weren’t enough to monitor such things, so the PSIA expanded to form a separate base for such crimes at Alternative Forensics.

Higurashi Kagome practically lived in the lounge room, preferring to sleep on the sofa, keeping the television on to drown out the sounds of angry detectives getting fired up on trivial issues on working weekends. Most of the people who worked there were confident that she never went home. It was unhealthy, to say the least, but nobody who worked at the Alternative was interested in leading a healthy lifestyle. She was always swamped with work, new cases being reported to her every Tuesday, and she preferred it to being sterile and crisp. She’d been seen multiple times with her family, particularly her grandfather, who insisted to hang baubles and gems on her desk, the one she never visited, for her good fortune. Her younger brother and mother used to visit her on weekends, usually delivering some delicacy that she shared equally with her co-workers.

Her work ethic was pretty talked about in the office, and for good reason. She rarely missed deadlines, and her team was almost never under pressure. She’d always believed that in the Alternative, everybody worked towards solving a puzzle, and she only had a particular part to solve. Only one part at a time. Her problem solving and deductions were unparalleled, and she knew it well enough to be aware. She’d usually never do field work, but when pushed out of her comfort zone, or when chasing crucial evidence, she’d never compromise.

You could find her lying on her back, sifting through evidence files provided by her organiser, her coffee untouched by her side, and her notepad on the corner of the coffee table, scribbled with random letters and signs. She’d be opening diet sodas and leaving them splattered on the floor, but she rarely got scolded for her behaviour. Nobody cared about the lounge anyway, and the janitors gelled well enough with her to fight over her habits. Her mind was always occupied with things, so she rarely got involved into squabbles.

She’d left a Rubik’s cube on her coffee table, when code red was announced across the office. Her organiser was flooded with files as he entered her room, panting. “Two bodies. Right in front of the traffic.”

She looked at the little boy, hardly sixteen, papers dropping over her table as he dumped his inventory onto her.

“Careful!” She snatched the magazines off the table, sitting up, knocking over two diet soda cans over. She picked up the original document, her fingers wrapping around the red spine as she flipped the pages, looking at her organiser, her eyebrows raised. “We already have information about the killers.”

“They’re not the killers.” The boy stared at his senior, giving her a report of the fingerprints. She snatched the reports from his hand, a bit annoyed. If the database had already determined the killers’ identities, why were they wasting time on stupid side evidence?

The reports were formatted same, the whorl pattern and suspects that had been spotted with the accomplice. Then she read the bio of the suspect, her eyes widening.

“This isn’t happening.” She tossed the files to the organiser, making a beeline for the director’s office. She collided with some angry executives on the way, the huge flat screen blaring the news about the Monday Murders yet again. She’d been hearing about it since last month, and it was getting on her nerves now.

Swinging open the director’s office door, she invited herself in, her palms smacking on the glass table, as she straightened her posture and looked down on her boss, tilting her head to the side. “The reports are fake.”

Senior detective Kaede stared at her, her grey hair bundled up in a neat bun she turned away from Kagome. “They’re real. We’ve checked at least five times.”

“Even if it is real,” Kagome interjected, feeling her heart speed up at the prospect of a new puzzle thrown at her, “They do not fall under my jurisdiction.”

“The higher ups called for your involvement in this case.” Kaede returned to her computer screen, as she worked on her project that involved simulating poison effects on human bodies as Kagome remembered.

“I’ve written this in my agreement, my team will not be involved in high profile or media covered cases.”

“You’re not the only one calling the shots for your team.” As soon as Kaede uttered that sentence, Kagome knew that her team had already decided ahead of her to work on this.

“Was it Hojo?” she asked the old woman, and she merely looked at her.

“They told me not to tell you about it,” Kaede said, defeated, “But all of them seemed interested.”

“Why not somebody better experienced with weapons? We’ve only solved poisoning cases.”

“That’s it, Kagome,” Kaede reached the end of her patience. “You can discuss further with your teammates.”

Kagome stood baffled in front of her senior. How could they treat her like that? She’d always said yes to every case handed to her since the last two years, and she had a great track record. Why were they thinking they could just boss her around with stupid cases?

“Have you seen fingerprints from a crime scene match one with one that was reported fifty years ago? A person that was already declared dead according to the records?”

Kaede inhaled sharply. “Yes, I’ve heard of such a case.”

Kagome sunk down in a chair, unable to handle herself. This was too much even for her.

“What happened?” Kagome said, looking at the simulation playing in Kaede’s computer, shifting her chair to get a better look. The human had been dozed with terabifene, the new compound they were testing for an antifreeze product.

“My senior was assigned a case like this.” Kaede said, looking at Kagome with a certain spark in her eyes. “She was overly passionate about it, and ended up having to sacrifice her own life for the mission.”

“There’s the reason I want to avoid this case.”

“You’re not wrong,” Kaede said, cocking her head towards Kagome. “But sometimes you should be a little reckless, you know. Look at you, you’re twenty-four, you rarely get out of the office, you barely consider socialising, so having a boyfriend is out of your options. You should try going on the field for a while, it will help you start a healthy life, if it’s not too late for you.”

Kagome got up from her seat, fuming. “I don’t like you commenting on my life.”

“I don’t like you wasting your life solving stupid puzzles.”

“I bet the authorities are forcing me to take up the job because of you, Kaede.”

“Don’t think I think too much of you, Kagome. You’re free to leave and focus on gathering evidence, if you’re done complaining.”

Kagome got up from her seat, heading for the cubicles, where she found Hojo, hunched over his computer, typing in codes for their previous case. She leaned against the divider, looking at him with contempt.

Hojo was a pretty laidback, chill person. He had a particular skill in hacking as well, working around high security systems and rechecking Alternative’s own database for breaches every now and then. There had been slight tension between her and him, but not to the extent that he’d go ahead with his decisions without informing her.

“Are we working on the case because you told Kaede you wanted a better job?”

Hojo turned towards her, his hands still on the keyboard. He smiled, but there was nothing warm about it. “I wanted a bit of experience on field as well.”

“Hojo,” she said, trying best to stay calm, “We’re not going to accept high profile cases. You promised me that when I joined the team.”

“This is not high profile,” Hojo said, turning back to his computer, “They have not linked it to the accused, plus you saw the reports you got.”

“That case was well over fifty years ago,” she said, tapping her finger on the table. “I’m not getting into mafia territory here. Withdraw the appeal.”

“No.”

“Then I resign from the team and go solo.”

“You know what, Kagome, that’s not a bad idea.” Hojo said, tired of her arguments, practically bashing her for being insensitive. “I suggest you go back to home and reflect upon why you refuse to do field when you are clearly capable of doing great things.”

“We’d die like dogs on the field.”

“Didn’t think of you as a girl chasing after glory.”

“Nobody here is after glory. We’re all fucking solving puzzles.”

“That’s the point, Kagome. You’ve been stuck on the easy mode for too long.”

“That’s it, I’m backing out. Find Haru to take my place.”

“Appreciate it.”

Kagome stormed off from the office, walking towards the lounge in fury, picking up her rucksack, her Rubik’s cube, and stormed out of the office. Quickly calling a cab, she realised this was the first time in two months, that she was going to spend her days at home.

* * *

The shrine was pretty impressive, even though Kagome thought that it was a rundown building, a thing that just kept gramps busy. The Goshinboku was still there, providing a cool shade in the hot summer afternoon. The Bone Eater’s well was still in the locked building. She remembered having vivid nightmares about it, even to this day. She was glad gramps kept his promise never to open that creepy place again.

Her mom was now shifting jobs to be an editor, her little brother was just fresh out of high school and on his way to his college, following his sister’s footsteps of pursuing forensic science. She’d wished he’d picked up something that was close to home, something he could relate to more. She remembered him being zealous over football, and once even expressed his desire to play on the national level. But she guessed he was too enamoured by her accolades and lifestyle, rarely seeing beyond the flexibility and the sincerity she put into her job. Everybody had a part of the puzzle to solve. Her brother had just taken her part, because he had seen his sister solve it, and he thought he knew how to reach the conclusion, just because Kagome had walked through that path.

Climbing up the long stairs, Kagome hauled her rucksack over her shoulder. She’d arrived unannounced, so there was no surprise that the house was empty. Gramps must have been dozing off, Buyo must be scratching some door in the basement, Mama must have been off to her work.

She removed her shoes by the stand, quietly entering the house, finding gramps passed out on the living room floor, just as she had predicted. Drool dripped down the side of his face while he snored loudly. Despite having left her office in a hurry, she had left a note for Kaede. She did inform her that she was taking a break, and she hadn’t taken one for two months, yet… The guilt crept into her heart, and with guilt, came insecurities. They would reassign her to something else. They would find her another team. She wasn’t doing anything wrong. She was just following her best interest.

And yet…

She heard Buyo purr at her, as she stood at the door of the living room. The cat strolled towards her, stretching by him legs, then rubbing over him to welcome her. Buyo had gotten fatter with lack of exercise. Gramps fed that glutton delicious food without taking him on walks.

He suddenly started walking out towards the well house, his tail swishing behind him as he climbed down the steps, and Kagome found herself following suit. The well house was a quaint little wooden house, complete with the sutras warding off evil in classic gramps style. Her eyes focused on the latch on the door, and she noticed that the door had been unlocked, the lock abandoned by the steps leading up to the house. Buyo climbed the steps and sat down, patiently waiting for Kagome to push the doors open for him.

She moved towards the doors as quietly as possible, her feet angling on her toes as she heard something from inside. A quiet, low, but distinguishable thump from inside. Her heart started to beat faster as her hand splayed across the latch, jerking back as she heard another thump, then gathering courage, pushing on the door slowly.

The hinges moved with a loud creak, the door groaning as it yawned open, the well now visible to her. Buyo looked up at her, undecided, then moved towards the well, climbing down the stairs in a happy gait. The tension was suddenly lifted, as Kagome found herself climbing down towards Buyo, looking at the well, shut and nailed, her palms resting on the wooden plank nailed to the well.

She didn’t remember it being shut. But she never remembered it being so claustrophobic either. Her hair hung down her shoulders to the mid way of her back, sweat dripping from her forehead, as Buyo let out a startled purr.

She whipped her head towards the cat, as scared as he was. He cowered into a corner, mewling as she felt the wood beneath her give way, her hand being pulled by some unknown force, her body losing balance and falling into the well.


	2. The Well

Darkness was the first thing that registered in Kagome’s brain when she found herself floating in the well. Had she fallen into a rabbit hole? Why was everything so slow? Would she meet some Mr. Hatter down there? Questions floated through her mind, being pushed back as she found something wrap around her ankle.

It was a knee jerk reaction. She kicked the tawny limb of… some weird living being that had somehow crept up beside her. Fearing the worst, she turned around.

Words cannot describe the terror she felt.

This wasn’t a human or an animal. This was a weird mish mash of a woman, completely naked, and a centipede. Her waist seamlessly morphed into an array of segments and twitching twig like legs. Her hair was open, a jet black, reaching down to where her spine ended and the centipede segments began. Her hands grabbed Kagome by her armpits, and the woman brought her face against Kagome’s, smelling her, sniffing her neck. Kagome felt a hell lot of awkwardness. Who was this horrifying creature, and why was she sniffing her? Kagome felt a wet tongue dart against her skin, as the woman tried to taste her cheek. She recoiled from the demon like being, her legs shaking with fear, muscles overloaded with adrenaline, her fingers curling around her palm, forming into a fist.

Kagome knew basic martial arts, but she had been so used to being on her couch, solving murders that she had forgotten most of her training. Her hands also grappled against the woman’s- or being’s- cold skin, as she tried to retaliate against the forceful licking.

“The Shikon Jewel,” the woman said, her eyes lighting up with fury. “You have it, don’t you?”

The Shikon what? Kagome blinked, the ambience of the well lighting up them in a bright incandescence. The woman’s skin was absolutely flawless. It seemed to lack any texture or pore, as though she had been carved out of marble. Kagome ran a set of scenarios through her brain in order to think of her next move. If she tried to lock the woman’s hands in between her torso and bicep, and manoeuvre so that she held her wrists free, she might have an upper hand with this.

But before she could really think about anything else, they both propelled towards the ground at a pace she knew was unreal and impossible. The centipede lady wrapped her arms around Kagome, as they crashed into what seemed like wooden flooring.

Their weight gave way to the floor, as it was smashed into thousands of pieces.

“What is happening?” Kagome said, as she was projected through the air, the centipede lady slinking away from her with a maniacal laughter. A rain of wooden shards fell upon Kagome, as she heard a distinct purr of Buyo. She rubbed her hands over her eyes, trying to shield herself from the shards. Her hands and knees felt cold, hard surface beneath her. What was this? Her mind refused to accept that this was real. She was definitely dreaming. The caffeine had been poisoning her brain or something like that. This wasn’t real. This wasn’t real.

She raised her head from her hands, taking in the surroundings. She was back at the Bone Eater well’s house. She knew that it was stupid to think she’d been shot like a bullet through the air and the ground was the cover of the nailed shut well and everything was a loop…

Even her thoughts made no sense.

“Kagome,” Gramps’ voice was grating and out of place in the stupendous situation she had just been in. “What are you doing, blowing up my well?”

Kagome coughed a bit; the wood had now been reduced to sawdust. That was another weird thing down her checklist. The wood was just replaced two months ago. When she was last home. She had herself fixed the seal over the well. There was no possible way the wood was so weak it shattered on impact. Which brought her back to the fact that she had fallen on the well’s inside. And then projected.

“When did you come her?” Gramps asked, picking her up. “I only saw your luggage in the living room and thought you were doing some mischief and I heard…”

Kagome felt a strange pain in her side, as she got up, her legs wobbly as she struggled for balance. “Is Mama home?”

He shook his head. “Not right now.”

“What time is it?”

“It’s seven o’clock.” Gramps appeared worried as she rushed towards the gate. “Kagome! Would you tell me what happened here? How did the well cover explode?”

Kagome ran towards the house, panting as she climbed the stairs, entering the living room on her right. Her rucksack and bags were on the floor, the latest case file sticking out as she lunged for it, flipping through the pages, looking at the identified fingerprints. The two sets of fingerprints that were identified from the Monday Murders were a couple of boys, one of them having peculiar ears. She looked at the photographs. They were both grainy black and white passport photographs, yellowed with time, but she could clearly see that both of them had long, shiny grey or possibly white hair. Maybe they were both albinos, and brothers, or perhaps belonged to a gang specifically for albinos.

But she felt her fears settle deep in her heart, as she grabbed the long strand of white hair in her hands, picked up during the struggle with the centipede woman. She quickly wrapped the hair and put it carefully in an evidence bag, and started up her laptop, her fingers hovering over her email inbox. The PSIA had dropped something in her inbox. She knew she was being paranoid, she wanted to be as far as possible from all this, but as soon as she clicked on the email, she knew it was futile trying to avoid this case.

In the email, was an official statement from the PSIA, accompanied by the letterhead, stamped by the Interpol, and following was a lengthy letter. Kagome saw Gramps look over her shoulder as he asked, “What happened?”

She quickly shut down the laptop, stuttering some incoherent nonsense. “I’m possibly going to jail if I don’t get the groceries.”

“Groceries?” Gramps asked, genuinely concerned now. “Look, Kagome, I need you to be honest. What happened down in the well house?”

“Gramps,” Kagome started, then remembered the last line of the email. “I need to go back to my office.”

She picked up her case files and evidence bags, stuffing them into her rucksack before rushing past Gramps. Grabbing the keys on the table beside the shoe stand, she ran towards her moped, strapping on her helmet, as Gramps ran after her.

“Kagome! At least take your charm to ward off evil!” Gramps panted, resting his hands on his knees, his hands clutching a pink pearl, and Kagome started up the moped. “I’m sorry, I need to rush, my boss would kill me.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“Well, Gramps, I am!” she accelerated through the street, kicking off a cloud of dust, racing towards the Alternative.

* * *

Kagome’s hair was a bird’s nest when she arrived at the building. Not that she was ever scolded for violating dress code, but because she had to report to a PSIA official within minutes. She decided to race through ten floors instead of waiting for the elevator. By the time she reached her floor, her hair was a mess of sweat. She breathed heavy as the executives saw her rushing through the corridor, and patted her hair down to tame her locks. If there was anything that was unfair in the world, it could never match up to the standards of the Alternative’s working hours. Often the officials found themselves slogging through hours and hours of paperwork and cases. It left little to spare for family life, which explained why most higher ups were single or failed at relationships. Kagome knew her future was headed in the same bleak direction, but she didn’t particularly mind. She knew what she had signed up for. It was too late to regret the decision, and since most of the staff on the Alternative was a bunch of workaholics, they didn’t have time to complain about mundane things like lack of relationships.

She realised a little too late that she was wearing the same ketchup stained cardigan from yesterday, when she walked into the conference room, facing Kaede and a senior presiding on the behalf of the Interpol. She knew her fate had been decided upon this case pretty early, but she knew not what consequences she will have to bear for rejecting the case in the first place.

“So,” the official spoke, gesturing towards Kagome to sit on the chair opposite to both of them. Between them was a glass table, Kagome’s files and previous records scattered across. Kagome didn’t like the sharp tone of her superior, but she didn’t have much to speak against her. Kaede sat in her chair, her chin resting on her knuckles, waiting for her turn to speak.

“Good evening,” Kagome greeted first, and emptied her rucksack over the table, both to the amusement and the horror of Kaede and the official. She was a lot more unhinged today, what with the supernatural encounter with the weird centipede lady, as she tried to hunt for the case file. Grabbing it in between her hands, flipping it to the supposedly similar looking profiles, she held the evidence bag gingerly in her hands, shoving it in front of the Interpol officer. “Have a look please.” Kagome’s voice came out in a little squeak.

The officer cast a crazy look at her, and examined the evidence and the profiles together.

“I need to access the PSIA internal lab in order to run a specific scan on the hair sample.” Kagome insisted. “I agree to work on this case if you agree to provide me with the resources I need.”

“What do you mean?” the officer asked, her nails drumming on the glass table.

“I know you have called me to either fire me from my job or take up this case to save my job, but I need to know whether one of these profiles are either fake or edited a bit.”

Kaede was shocked when she heard the last sentence. “Higurashi, you know what you are insinuating…”

“Yes, it might be taken in the sense that I don’t trust the records or the archives.” Kagome was blunt. “Kaede, you know I am the only one that can solve this case right now. That evidence walked right into my arms. If you and the PSIA extend their support towards me, I can help to crack this case.”

The officer laughed. “And what do we tell when the higher ups get to know that you are meddling with the PSIA labs?” The PSIA was off limits to the Alternative employees. They rarely extended their resources towards the Alternative. It was seen as taboo for the authorities to actively support the Alternative’s methods, for they knew it would earn them a bad reputation.

“It’s been four weeks,” Kagome interjected, “Every week there are two bodies, dumped into the middle of traffic. Nobody knows where the bodies are coming from. Nobody can confirm who the bodies belong to. Media has already made PSIA into a clown. If both the agencies do not join hands for this one case, reputations of both the authorities are at stake. Kaede,” she turned towards her superior, “I need a new team.”

“What about your previous one?”

“I need to start afresh.” Kagome clenched her hands into fists. “I know what we are going up against. At least an idea. This isn’t something that can simply be solved in the comfort of a cubicle.” She turned the profile towards her, looking at the yellowed passport photo. “We need reinforcements.”


	3. Specimen

Kagome walked with bated breath as she saw her cubicle empty, Toru san moving into the little space she had left vacant for more than a year. The organiser was filing through the cabinet beside her space, warmly smiling at her. She returned that smile back, as she held her case files in her hands, the plastic digging in her skin as she saw Toru settle in beside Hojo kun, as they appeared to discuss something.

Kaede had instructed her to conduct a side research on the bio she had been provided, and she came up with almost nothing. She knew that Kaede was withholding information from her, though. Kaede had been in contact with the dead specimen before, and she insisted that it was the most peculiar preserved specimen she had ever seen.

They were going to see the one specimen they had whose fingerprints matched the ones at the crime scene. Taisho Inuyasha.

He had been preserved for well over fifty years in the Research wing of the Alternative. Kaede had been barely a toddler when her sister took down the criminal, but Kaede claimed that she remembered the case with startling clarity, and it was evident. Before she was invited into MENSA, Kaede had worked with her sister's colleagues at the age of six, who told her all about the case. It was well known because of the fact that researchers had been unable to determine whether Inuyasha was a human or not.

Because of the policies at that time in the Japan intelligence and research, they had been unable to perform post-mortem examinations on mutated species or high level criminals like Inuyasha. There was a further terror of the examination being fatal, because one such organism had started expelling an odour that resembled cyanide. All three forensic researchers died the very next day.

Kagome looked at the watch in her hands as she rushed through the elevator, her speech restricted to "good morning" and "sorry". It was in sharp contrast to her usual behaviour. Many noticed it, but they didn't dare bring the subject of her discomfort into the conversation. She raced towards the parking and climbed into the police car, her breath coming out in fogs.

"Strange weather," the driver said, adjusting his mirror. Kaede was already in the seat beside her, annoyed at her tardiness. Kagome gulped audibly as she felt Kaede's eyes glare holes into her.

"Third time you've reported late," Kaede huffed, her coat snug on her body. Kagome wondered if it was comfortable enough for her senior. Kaede had very eccentric tastes in fashion, and Kagome wanted to remain respectful of her choices, but she couldn't help but think about that. She didn't think it was some cardinal sin, just that she thought that it was weird for her senior to spend so much time after her outward appearance and yet look so… out of place.

"I had misplaced my apron," Kagome looked at her, wearing a guilty smile.

"You need to be a bit more careful," Kaede rolled down the car window. The radio started with a static noise as a classic started to echo in the car. The driver started the ignition, pushing the car out of the parking lot and into the highway.

"I was unaware that protocols will still hold while we were on field, sorry," Kagome scratched the back of hr head, ashamed.

"It's not just the you reputation at stake, girl," Kaede said, her elbow leaned on the window. "We've pushed your name on the priority list before many deserving candidates who have been looking forward to work with the PSIA. You've only been chosen because you have a 99.7% success rate. You don't have enough experience to assist in the investigation, you have been slacking off and not attending the meetings post investigation, you've fired many blind arrows in the past…" Kaede paused as she looked at Kagome's downcast face. "I'm just speaking the truth."

"I've had at least fifty cases each year." Kagome clarified. "Sometimes I have even solved two cases simultaneously."

"But your formal behaviour is terrible." Kaede huffed, as they pulled into a narrow lane that led to the headquarters of the main research facility of the Alternative. Kagome had only been here when she was fresh out of medical school, starting as an intern for her forensic studies program. She'd been a raw little brat of twenty, running around and knocking down things as she explored around the facility. Now that she was back, she felt a wave of nostalgia hit her as she climbed down the car, shutting the door behind her.

It was a huge building, a mass of window panels and sanitised corridors. Most of the employees of the Alternative was denied access to the building, because of severe differences in ideologies between the two organisations.

"It's weird to think that the higher ups won't let us inside the main research facility, yet when they call upon press conferences these bigots sit in the first row."

"Kagome chan." Kaede reprimanded, her hands folding up. "No political statements."

"Yes." Kagome followed her senior as they rode the elevator to the eighth floor, the smell of disinfectant and coffee heavy in the air. The main branch was pretty strict at policies and etiquette, so they rarely saw any busy personnel running around the office. The eighth floor was generally kept under wraps. Not everyone was allowed to access the storage, and since it fell under the Alternative, they did have some pretty messed up things.

Kaede punched an access code as they halted on the eighth floor, as the doors hissed open, and Kagome was astonished.

The floor was shut off from all corners, no windows and staircases. Rows upon rows of cold storages were locked up, as personnel kept doing routine checks in each room, filing in the resources at regular intervals. The walls were stacked with deep freezers, as Kagome used to call them when she was younger. She stifled a laugh.

"I hope you find it amusing in here, young detective," a man donning a surgical mask ushered Kaede and Kagome out of the elevator, as Kagome tried to keep a straight face. Research wing's oldies never knew how to take a joke.

"Excuse her, sensei," Kaede said in a low voice, "She doesn't know how to behave yet."

The man's glasses fogged up as he tried to speak. "Sure, you tell her to keep her silly tantrums out of the Research wing."

Kagome hung her head as they silently entered one of the preservation chambers. The walls were choke full of specimen and mortuary freezers. Kagome tugged on her coat just a bit too late. The man stared at her, his grey hair falling out of his hairnet as he handed them gloves and masks. "You are supposed to examine the body only externally. Post mortems and exploratory incisions are not allowed by order of the directors. Police enforcements have kept certain evidences and weapons fixed in place in order to preserve the specimen for longer periods."

Kagome tugged on a hairnet as the buttons on the freezer were pushed. A hiss of hydraulics resounded in the preservation chambers as the body was rolled out…

Kagome's eyes went wide.

If this sort of a creature was existing in their world…

Kagome put on her glasses. This was a marvel to look at. He must have had a pretty good physique in his life, since his muscles were well formed, defined beneath his skin. He had a pretty face, his eyes sunken in hollow sockets and a Greek nose, sharp and small in the centre of his face. His forehead bangs reached his eyebrows. His eyelashes curved graciously into silver points, wispy and feathery. His skin was taut despite having been dead for almost half a century. Two dog ears sprouted out of his head, covered in fine fur. His silver locks went down below his mid back, albeit having lost the shine after years of preservation. His skin was cyanosed, meaning it could have been a cardiac poison that had been administered to him.

"I thought mortuaries had started to cut hair down if it was longer than shoulder length?" Kagome asked, looking at the torso, noticing the elephant in the room: the point of an arrow inserted right into his heart.

The research personnel hesitated. "We couldn't." He looked at Kaede. "Because it kept growing back."

Kagome looked at him, half expecting for it to be a joke. As he didn't laugh, and neither did Kaede, she understood that the situation was grave. Looking at the body, she proclaimed, her fingers slightly turning his head to his side, "Cyanosis is the only thing I see on this body." She picked his hands, observing the nails. They were a deep blue. "Have you checked for cardiac poisons?"

"Negative."

"Respiratory poisons? Mitochondrial poisons?"

"All came negative."

She looked down at the body, nodding. "I need to examine it at least for two days. Or forty eight hours to be exact."

The personnel shook his head. "You are only allowed a maximum of two hours around the subject."

"What happens after two hours?" Kagome asked playfully, as she palpated his body for internal organs injuries and pulled back his eyelids. Kagome took a few steps back, suddenly shocked out of her wits. His eyes were a bright yellow, and they were intact. This was definitely organic tissue. Usually for preservation purposes, the eyes would be swapped for marble prosthetics, but this one…

"Detective Higurashi?" the personnel asked, "Do you need a break?"

Kagome pulled her shoulders and breathed in a long breath. The formalin almost burned up her nose. "I need some time alone with him."

Kaede nodded, and left the preservation chamber, the doors swinging behind her.

The man stood alone with her, staring down at the body. "Higurashi san, please don't extend your examination time. For your own safety."

Kagome almost laughed. "Why? Would he stand up and walk around me if I did?"

The man shook his head. "Not quite, but people have reported, how do I say this… anomalies when we left them alone with it."

Anomalies.

The man bowed, as he left Kagome to marvel at the dead mutated body alone.

She sighed. Stretching a bit, relaxing, she grabbed the lights from her side and switched them on. A bright fluorescent glow enveloped both of them. She sat down beside the body, grabbing her record and checking off her lists. She turned to his bio, still getting flashbacks of his fingerprints appearing on the crime scene. Did he really move despite being dead?

"Hmm," she said, her voice feeling unsteady. She desperately wanted to fill the silence with her voice. "So you are Taisho Inuyasha."

She waited for a response from him. Obviously being her usual weird self. He remained still, his body not moving. She looked at the body tag, still attached to his toe. "They say you grow your hair back, do you?"

Silence greeted her.

"How rude of me to not introduce myself," she said, her hands not coordinating with her, as she dropped her reports. "Look, you've made me so nervous, Inuyasha san." She bent down to pick the reports. "I am Junior Detective Higurashi Kagome, Nice to meet…"

Her words trailed off, as she emerged from beneath the trailer, her hands full with reports. She had almost missed it, but she noticed it right away. She usually noted minute things pretty quickly. It had become an essential part of her job.

His right hand's little finger moved about one centimetre away from its normal position.

She laughed nervously. "They said you performed miracles only if you were left out for more than two hours. Are you going to schedule an early seat for me?"

She waited for a response, this time only half joking. She noted his lips had turned a bit bluer since she came in and observed him. It could be due to the change of light, or perhaps due to her eyes adjusting to the bright light. It could be explained. Quiet easily as well.

"Let us see, your fatal injury was probably the arrow into your heart, isn't it?" She touched the tip of the broken arrow with her finger. She felt like something bad was going to happen to her, like her finger was going to be snipped off by the arrow head, as often happens in horror movies. But nothing happened. She was a bit disappointed. After having heard praises about the specimen, she actually wanted it to do things for her. But perhaps she wasn't very welcome in Inuyasha's presence.

"They say your blood tested negative for all poisons, you know," she continued, her hands palpating his body, looking for injuries or scratches. His body was pretty well preserved, even by the Alternative's standards. Her hands felt for depressions in his chest, counted his ribs. He had a very peculiar anatomy with respect to his ears though. They looked exactly like dog ears. She was sure that the flexibility was due to cartilaginous tissue. She wondered if he could move them while he was alive. She paused, as she felt something different. Her hand slid up his torso, and then she was sure of it.

She heaved, her heart doing somersaults as she noted his chest started to expand and collapse, slight movements, but it was her bane to observe minute details. She was purely imagining things. She shut her eyes, as she heard the walls hum with a mechanical rhythm. This wasn't real. She was just happening to imagine things because of the lack of oxygen. It wasn't real.

She opened her eyes a bit to find his chest completely still. Unsure, she kept her palm over his heart, trying to look for a rhythm. Nothing. She pressed her three fingers flush against his carotid. No pulse. She kept her fingers in front of his nostrils. Nothing.

She let out a sigh of relief. "You got me there, Inuyasha."

The body rested there, never moving.

For some unknown reason, she felt a pang of pity in her chest. He was such a pretty lad. She was sure, even without internal assays and X- rays, that there was a whole lot of miracle body work inside of him. She made a note in her mind to get some scans of his body the next day.

She retreated back a few steps, glad that she had been over with such a dreary task. This body was really something. "I think you'd never like my presence if you were alive as well," she said, feeling guilty. She saw something move yet again, but she didn't want to stretch the examination further.

But the curiosity nagged her at the back of her mind. Sighing, she looked at his jaw. It was fine, she wouldn't waste much time if she looked at his teeth once.

She really wanted to get this over with.

Bending over his body, she pulled his lips with her thumb. She knotted her eyebrows in confusion. Nobody was supposed to have canines this sharp and prominent. As far as she knew, veneers and body modifications weren't all that in the rage fifty years ago. She brushed her fingers over them. They felt real. His canines were sharpened to points, with an edge that could cut skin like a hot knife through butter. How did he not get nicked by these teeth himself?

She felt something warm escape his mouth, as she pulled away. She wasn't going to inhale poison fumes from this ancient dead body.

It happened in an instant, but she knew it wasn't a trick of her mind.

He opened his eyes, turned to look towards her, hissed, and snapped his teeth at her.


	4. Animal

Kagome saw the light shatter on the ground, breaking into a million pieces as the dead body had reanimated to life. She screamed at the top of her lungs. What was this? Why was this happening to her? Surely there had been many detectives who had looked at a corpse before who hadn’t had the misfortune of seeing it spring in front of them.

Kaede came rushing into the preservation chamber. “What are you- Oh my god.”

The light from the glowing disk dials on the chamber doors wasn’t bright enough, but Kagome was sure that Kaede saw the figure in the dark, for he had the most magnificent pair of yellow eyes that shined in the dark. He struggled against the ankle straps around his left leg, as Kagome heard a distinct hissing sound, and the clatter of something on the cold floor. Kagome shook her head, not being able to believe what was in front of her. She’d seen teratogenic malformations, failed experiments and nuclear exposure mutants, but the sounds the monster was making in front of her were on an entirely different frequency. She did, however, notice a distinct growl from him. Almost like an animal cornered.

The clattering came closer to her, as Kaede shouted at her. “Kagome chan!”

Kagome felt fingers wrap around her ankle. A knee jerk reaction made her leg twitch, almost knocking the dead grip off of her, but now she could see the woman from the well, staring into her eyes, one of her hands latched on to her shoulder, holding her down.

Kagome didn’t have time to think. Concentrating all her force into her lower body, she jump kicked the demon lady off of her, standing up back on her feet. Her bun had come undone, revealing her black locks, that frayed upon her heart shaped face. She locked her eyes with the dead boy for a moment, feeling a sinking sensation. That pull into his golden eyes was magnetic, and no matter how hard she tried, Kagome could not face away from him.

That was until something cold and hard sent her flying towards the fair haired lad, her limbs flailing to grab him for support. The demon lady had smacked her using the centipede body. Her chest collided into his, as his hands held her shoulders at an arm’s length, his golden eyes widening as he observed her. “Kikyo.” Kagome looked at the lad, her lips refusing to move in the utter shock she had just received. Behind her, Kaede was using a fire extinguisher to beat the demon lady on her head, and the demon was giving her a really hard time.

“Kagome chan! Run!” Kaede swung the fire extinguisher over the demon lady’s head, as Kagome fell across the preservation chamber. She heard something roll onto the floor, and the golden eyes flipped to look at her. Kaede was still somehow fighting the demon, as the sirens began to blare overhead. Kagome stumbled towards the specimen, knowing that if she left him alone with the demon, he would surely be killed. The sirens meant someone had pulled the sealing lever, meant to be used only in times of security breaches. She was just going to reach him…

Her body flew across as the demon lady whacked her with the centipede tail yet again, this time sliding across the floor to land right in front of the specimen’s feet. She stumbled upon her feet, as she heard him say, “Kikyo, wasting your time with the Centipede monster, are you?”

Kagome lifted her head to meet his eyes, that magnetic pull making her sink inside her body yet again. Did she just hear him talk?

“You’re alive,” Kagome noted, though stating the fact seemed a bit stupid at first. She had seen him snap his teeth at her, didn’t she? The way he behaved like an animal made her believe that he was just a reanimated corpse. But now she was seeing him, all in his flesh.

“Kill her in one strike, as you killed me, Kikyo. Have you forgotten our last encounter? Should I remind you, Kikyo?” The boy continued in his haughty tone, as Kagome found her irritation building up. Who was this weird mish mash of a human and a dog? Why did he keep referring to her as Kikyo?

“Stop looking so dumb, you sly woman. Have you lost your heart yet again, Kikyo? Can’t hurt little demons and purge this world from our evil?”

Kagome stood up; her legs finally stopped shaking. “What the hell is this Kikyo, Kikyo?” She held her hands on her waist. “You must be mistaken, for my name is-”

“It’s coming.”

Kagome didn’t have much time to react to the boy’s words, as the demon came from above them, sending Kagome hurtling towards the left. Even before the demon lady could pounce on her, security burst through the doors, firing bullets on the Centipede lady. The demon appeared to draw back, and Kagome breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m saved.”

“Well, too hopeless, Kikyo.” The boy chuckled, as though enjoying her pain. Kagome couldn’t have it any more lying down. She should have acted according to protocol while interacting with sentient specimens, but her odd rebellious behaviour was something hard to shake off.

“You…” she got up on her feet, her glasses now lost among the chaos. “You are gravely mistaken. I’m not Kikyo!”

“Don’t play games with me!” the boy retorted, his irritation almost on the same level as Kagome’s. “Who else would give off a smell like you?” He seemed to retract back, as she stepped closer, and she heard him sniff. Like a dog. “Or.. maybe not.”

“Satisfied?” Kagome said, crossing her arms across her chest. “I am Kagome. Ka-go-me.” She enunciated each syllable in her name, her impatience shooting through the roof.

The boy appeared ashamed as he said, “Well, Kikyo was much smarter in terms of combat. Also an unmatched beauty.”

Kagome was taken aback. Why was he comparing her to whoever Kikyo was?

She felt someone grab her from behind, pulling hard. Her hands instinctively held onto his shoulders as the demon lady growled, her hands tugging her away from the specimen. He growled at the demon, a low rumble inside his chest as the demon seemed to be intimidated by him.

“Let go, it hurts!” the boy screamed at Kagome.

The demon lady laughed as she heard the specimen talk, and fangs sprang forth from her mouth, as she descended near Kagome, ready to rip her apart. Kagome outstretched her hand, screaming at the lady, and something shined from within her body. The demon lady backtracked, a pair of her arms falling off her body. Kagome was knocked off the specimen, back onto the hard floor. Something like that happened to her in the well! But how could she do that? Something started to glow from within her. Before Kagome could even think of something, the demon lady came racing towards her, flinging her up in the air. Kagome felt something pierce through her abdomen, dangerously close to her spleen. She heard something rip away from her. Something bounced on the floor, rolling away from them. Kagome felt her body collide against the haughty boy once again, as the centipede demon’s body wrapped around both of them. It was tightening slowly, like an anaconda’s death grip.

“Finally,” the demon lady swooped in and swallowed something shining on the floor. Kagome heard her gulp. The skin on the demon lady shed off, revealing grotesque grey skin marked with prominent veins. The demon contorted, as her arms attached back to her. The specimen looked down at the detective. “Hurry, remove the arrow.” He appeared to plead Kagome, as she saw him raise his eyebrows and look at the arrow head jabbed into his heart.

Kaede seemed to hear on his words, and came rushing towards her, only to be blocked by the demon. “You cannot remove the arrow, Kagome chan!” Kaede shouted, bashing the demon lady on her head to no avail. “This is an order from your superior, Junior Detective Higurashi! If you pull the arrow out, you will set Inuyasha free!”

“You old hag, do you want to become fodder for this demon?” Inuyasha struggled in the vise like grip of the demon. “You,” he addressed Kagome. “You will die the fastest if you do not let me out. I can defeat this demon.” Kagome was at crossroads. She would be reprimanded by her senior if she let the specimen out. But how will pulling the arrow out set him free? Kagome decided to give it a shot, as she gripped the arrowhead in her hand. The arrow head merely disappeared, leaving everyone in shock. Kagome felt an overwhelming energy as the colour flushed into Inuyasha’s face. His dead muscles came back to life, and the blood in his veins was being pumped yet again by his heart.

She heard a maniacal laughter from him, and the next thing she knew was she was on the observation table, lying face down, the entire preservation chamber bathed in a spray of blood.

Inuyasha stood in between the carnage, centipede segments scattered around him. Kaede rushed to Kagome, helping her onto her feet. Kagome felt her chest tighten as she witnessed the whole violence. She had seen some hardened criminals in her career, but none of them looked as menacing as Inuyasha did. The neon glow of the preservation chambers gave him an ominous look, as he stood for a moment there, soaked in demon blood. Soon he collapsed on his knees.

“Kagome chan, do you see something shining in the flesh?” Kaede asked. Kagome did not know what to think right now. She merely pointed at the segment near Inuyasha’s feet, her expression blank. Kaede walked towards it, pulling out something from it. Kagome saw it pretty well in the dark. It emanated a glow that was powerful enough to overwhelm Kagome, as she fell down, exhausted by the energy sucked away from her.

Kaede pulled her by her shoulders. Kagome remained blank, too shocked by the events that had just unfolded in front of her.

“What did I tell you?” Kaede shook the girl out of her daze. “You weren’t supposed to do that!”

They both heard a shuffle of feet, and Inuyasha slipped out of the preservation chamber.

* * *

Kagome hurried and sat in the driver’s seat, as Kaede climbed into the passenger’s seat, her hands gripping the gun in her right hand. Kaede tossed a strange collar like device into the glove box. Kagome breathed in, feeling frustrated.

“I hate it!” Kaede said, cocking her gun, looking out of the car window. Kagome looked at her once, before deciding it was better to stay vigilant and keep her eyes on the road. She had heard enough complaints from Kaede to last her a life time.

“There was a halt in the traffic a few distance behind us,” Kagome said, looking at Kaede.

“Do you want to lose track of him?” Kaede appeared to have been insulted. “Take a U turn, I don’t want to let that son of a bitch get away.”

Kagome gritted her teeth as she took a hard turn on the desolate highway. Very soon they would enter the hustle of city crowd, and if the specimen would be encountered by the amidst the crowded streets of Tokyo, they’d probably have to either kill him instantly, losing vital information in the process, or there would be some collateral damage in the process. This was why Kagome hated field duties. She wanted to solve cases in the comfort of her lounge, rather than in a situation where she’d be mortally wounded by some freak of the nature.

Kagome had been fairly desensitised by the nature of her work.

However, she couldn’t bear to keep that one thing…

“How well do you know the specimen?” Kagome looked at her superior, desperate to find answers for the question nagging her at the back of her mind.

“Drive.” Kaede pointed her finger at the highway.

“And who’s Kikyo?” Kagome said, and watched Kaede visibly flinch.

“Keep your questions for the interrogation.”

The statement left her utterly horrified. “I am not going to interrogate him.”

Kaede stayed silent. Kagome hated the lack of response from her side. She had been expected to shut her mouth and investigate this case while she was barely getting any information for things that essentially breached her privacy and trust. She wanted to find some assurances to the fact that the specimen, right now a prime suspect in a serial murder case, was familiar with her, or at least someone like her. Someone who looked like her.

“I agreed to do field on this job, not drill a person who should be dead over who this mystery lady is.” Kagome’s hands dug into the steering wheel. “I hope you understand that interrogation must be left to people more capable than me. Actual interrogation officers. That’s who you should pick, but you just force me into every role I can assume according to you, Kaede san.”

“Higurashi,” Kaede warned her, and there was nothing else that Kagome could say to further her point.

“I just think you should either assume I can do everything and trust me with all the information, or just let me handle what is within my own territory.”

“Solving your part of the puzzle, right,” Kaede said, a sardonic smile on her face. “Let’s just realise this, Kagome, that just because you solved your part, doesn’t mean that the whole puzzle would fall into place on its own.”

“Are you going to tell me who this guy is?” Kagome said, her knuckles turning white as she entered the traffic of Tokyo city lights. Kaede didn’t bother to give her any explanation.

They’d just been into the thicket of the hordes of cars when they heard a scream from the front, as Kagome climbed out of the car, noticing the faint streak of red pass through her field of vision.


End file.
